A lidar system includes a light source configured to emit a beam of light including a sequence of pulses, a scanner configured to scan, using the sequence of pulses, a field of regard of the lidar system along a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension in accordance with a first scan pattern; a receiver configured to detect light from at least some of the pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate an array of pixels, based on the sequence of pulses of the beam of light. The lidar system is further configured to modify the first scan pattern in view of a result of processing the generated array of pixels to generate a second scan pattern, and scan the field of regard using the sequence of pulses along the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension in accordance with the second scan pattern.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A lidar system comprising: a light source configured to emit a beam of light including a sequence of pulses; a scanner configured to scan, using the sequence of pulses, a field of regard of the lidar system along a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension in accordance with a first scan pattern, wherein each light pulse illuminates a respective light-source field of view corresponding to a pixel, and wherein the scanner includes: a first mirror configured to turn about a first axis to scan the beam of light across the horizontal dimension, and a second mirror configured to turn about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis to scan the beam of light across the vertical dimension, wherein in accordance with the first scan pattern, the second mirror is configured to turn between a minimum vertical scan angle and a maximum vertical scan angle; and a receiver configured to detect light from at least some of the pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate an array of pixels, the array having at least two dimensions, based on the sequence of pulses of the beam of light; wherein the lidar system is further configured to (i) modify the first scan pattern in view of a result of processing the generated array of pixels to generate a second scan pattern, wherein modifying the first scan pattern includes modifying an angular separation between the minimum vertical scan angle and the maximum vertical scan angle, and (ii) scan the field of regard using the sequence of pulses along the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension in accordance with the second scan pattern.
2. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein to modify the first scan pattern, the lidar system is further configured to modify at least one of (i) a rate at which the first mirror turns or (ii) a rate at which the second mirror turns.
3. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein in accordance with the first scan pattern, the first mirror is configured to turn between a minimum horizontal scan angle and a maximum horizontal scan angle, and wherein to modify the first scan pattern, the lidar system is further configured to modify an angular separation between the minimum horizontal scan angle and the maximum horizontal scan angle.
4. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the scanner is configured to generate a plurality of scan lines, and wherein to modify the first scan pattern, the lidar system is further configured to modify an angular separation between at least two of the plurality of the scan lines.
5. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein in accordance with the second scan pattern, the lidar system generates a higher pixel density for a region of interest within the field of regard relative to other regions within the field of regard.
6. The lidar system of claim 5 , further comprising a controller configured to process the generated array of pixels to detect a target within the region of interest.
7. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the lidar system is further configured to (i) modify the first scan pattern for an interval of time of a predetermined duration, and (ii) upon expiration of the interval of time, modify the second scan pattern to revert back to the first scan pattern.
8. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the first mirror is a first planar mirror, and the second mirror is a second planar mirror.
9. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the first mirror is a polygon mirror, and the second mirror is a planar mirror.
10. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the light source includes a laser with an operating wavelength between 1400 nm and 1600 nm.
11. The lidar system of claim 1 , wherein the light source includes a laser diode.
12. A method in a lidar system for scanning a field of regard, the method comprising: causing a light source to emit a beam of light including a sequence of pulses; scanning, using the sequence of pulses, a field of regard of the lidar system along a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension in accordance with a first scan pattern, wherein each light pulse illuminates a respective light-source field of view corresponding to a pixel, and wherein scanning the field of regard includes: scanning the beam of light across the horizontal dimension using a first mirror configured to turn about a first axis, and scanning the beam of light across the vertical dimension using a second mirror configured to turn about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis, including turning the second mirror between a minimum vertical scan angle and a maximum vertical scan angle; detecting light from at least some of the pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate an array of pixels, the array having at least two dimensions, based on the sequence of pulses of the beam of light; modifying the first scan pattern in view of a result of processing the generated array of pixels to generate a second scan pattern, wherein modifying the first scan pattern includes modifying an angular separation between the minimum vertical scan angle and the maximum vertical scan angle; and scanning the field of regard using the sequence of pulses along the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension in accordance with the second scan pattern.
13. The method of claim 12 , wherein modifying the first scan pattern further includes modifying at least one of (i) a rate at which the first mirror turns or (ii) a rate at which the second mirror turns.
14. The method of claim 12 , wherein: scanning the beam of light across the horizontal dimension using the first mirror includes turning the first mirror between a minimum horizontal scan angle and a maximum horizontal scan angle, and modifying the first scan pattern further includes modifying an angular separation between the minimum horizontal scan angle and the maximum horizontal scan angle.
15. The method of claim 12 , wherein: scanning the beam of light across the horizontal dimension using the first mirror includes turning the first mirror between a minimum horizontal scan angle and a maximum horizontal scan angle, and modifying the first scan pattern further includes applying an equal offset to the minimum horizontal scan angle and to the maximum horizontal scan angle so as to shift the field of regard along the horizontal dimension.
16. The method of claim 12 , wherein: modifying the first scan pattern further includes applying an equal offset to the minimum vertical scan angle and to the maximum vertical scan angle so as to shift the field of regard along the vertical dimension.
17. The method of claim 12 , wherein scanning the field of regard includes generating a plurality of scan lines, and modifying the first scan pattern further includes modifying an angular separation between at least two of the plurality of the scan lines.
18. The method of claim 12 , wherein scanning the field of regard in accordance with the second scan pattern includes generating a higher pixel density for a region of interest within the field of regard relative to other regions within the field of regard.
19. The method of claim 18 , further comprising: processing, using a controller, the generated array of pixels to detect a target within the region of interest.
20. The method of claim 12 implemented in a vehicle, the method further comprising: processing, using a controller, the generated array of pixels to detect a grade of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and modifying the first scan pattern in response to detecting the grade of the road.
21. The method of claim 12 , further comprising: modifying the first scan pattern for an interval of time of a predetermined duration, and upon expiration of the interval of time, modifying the second scan pattern to revert back to the first scan pattern.
22. A lidar system comprising: a light source configured to emit a beam of light including a sequence of pulses; a scanner configured to scan, using the sequence of pulses, a field of regard of the lidar system along a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension in accordance with a first scan pattern, wherein each light pulse illuminates a respective light-source field of view corresponding to a pixel, and wherein the scanner includes: a first mirror configured to turn about a first axis to scan the beam of light across the horizontal dimension, wherein in accordance with the first scan pattern, the first mirror is configured to turn between a minimum horizontal scan angle and a maximum horizontal scan angle, and a second mirror configured to turn about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis to scan the beam of light across the vertical dimension; and a receiver configured to detect light from at least some of the pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate an array of pixels, the array having at least two dimensions, based on the sequence of pulses of the beam of light; wherein the lidar system is further configured to (i) modify the first scan pattern in view of a result of processing the generated array of pixels to generate a second scan pattern, wherein modifying the first scan pattern includes applying an equal offset to the minimum horizontal scan angle and to the maximum horizontal scan angle so as to shift the field of regard along the horizontal dimension, and (ii) scan the field of regard using the sequence of pulses along the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension in accordance with the second scan pattern.
23. A lidar system comprising: a light source configured to emit a beam of light including a sequence of pulses; a scanner configured to scan, using the sequence of pulses, a field of regard of the lidar system along a horizontal dimension and a vertical dimension in accordance with a first scan pattern, wherein each light pulse illuminates a respective light-source field of view corresponding to a pixel, and wherein the scanner includes: a first mirror configured to turn about a first axis to scan the beam of light across the horizontal dimension, and a second mirror configured to turn about a second axis orthogonal to the first axis to scan the beam of light across the vertical dimension, wherein in accordance with the first scan pattern, the second mirror is configured to turn between a minimum vertical scan angle and a maximum vertical scan angle; and a receiver configured to detect light from at least some of the pulses scattered by one or more remote targets to generate an array of pixels, the array having at least two dimensions, based on the sequence of pulses of the beam of light; wherein the lidar system is further configured to (i) modify the first scan pattern in view of a result of processing the generated array of pixels to generate a second scan pattern, wherein modifying the first scan pattern includes applying an equal offset to the minimum vertical scan angle and to the maximum vertical scan angle so as to shift the field of regard along the vertical dimension, and (ii) scan the field of regard using the sequence of pulses along the horizontal dimension and the vertical dimension in accordance with the second scan pattern.
24. The lidar system of claim 23 operating in a vehicle, further comprising a controller configured to (i) process the generated array of pixels to detect a grade of a road on which the vehicle is traveling, and (ii) send a control signal to the scanner to scan the field of regard according to the second scan pattern.
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March 29, 2018
April 6, 2021
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